Speak My Soul
by Koneko-chan9
Summary: Naraku's gone, yet someone seek's vengeance on Kagome? A deadly wound, the killer offering to save her life, and the peril of one soul. Only the choices IY makes can save Kagome - but what if she doesn't want to live?
1. Prologue

Greetings, minna-san! I'm starting another story! Can you believe it? *ignores groans from crowd* I know, I should work on my other two, but you guys gotta send me more typos for Typos: OTI, and I'm still figuring out details for LWHIW. This got into my head, and I don't think I can write my other two until I get this one done. Not that I think anyone cares, but I think you guys might like this one better than my others! (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

Disclaimer: Yes, I own them! They're mine! Wow, look at all the pigs flying by my window….

The story thus far: DUH!!!!! This is the prologue!

Speak My Soul Prologue 

"Inu-yasha, I think it's time we stopped for today! It's getting late!" 

"But I want to get to this stupid village soon! If we keep going now, we can make it in a few hours!"

"We'll still be there before the others, so we don't have to rush! They won't be there for at least another two days!" Kagome was getting desperate; it was late and she was tired. "I'll make a deal with you: We keep going, and I'll s-i-t you every step of the way; OR, we stop now, and I'll let you have _two _cups of ramen tonight." And with that last statement, Kagome knew she had won.

Inu-yasha started to whine. "But there's someone I really want to…" Then her last statement's meaning hit him. "Do you mean it?!?"

Kagome nearly fell over laughing at his response. He could be such a kid sometimes!

"Hai! I meant it! Now come down here and lets make camp!"

            A little while later, Kagome had a small pot of water on to boil, over the fire that was created by the matches she brought and the wood Inu-yasha had collected. She couldn't believe he'd done that, even if it was for ramen! He'd never have done that if the others had been there. 'Come to think of it, I still don't know why Shippo wanted to split into groups to get to this village. I'm the only one who can sense shards, so they can't be finding many… On the other hand, both Sango and Miroku were gathering shards to begin with, so you never know… But we defeated Naraku, and from what I can tell, there's only a few shards still out there. We might even have them all, and I just need to put them together! But then again, they all had that secretive look in their eyes when they headed out; and they took such a long route! Oh well…' 

Kagome looked over at the ramen-happy Inu-yasha, who was currently staring, almost nervously, at the water, then glancing back at the ramen, just to make sure it hadn't gone anywhere. 'Of course, it is kinda nice to just be with Inu-yasha; when the others aren't here, he's a lot nicer, and doesn't worry as much about his pride.' She smiled. 'He'd never be this excited over dinner, no matter what it was, if the others were here. He probably wouldn't even eat!' She sighed. 'At least he trusts me enough to let me see this side of him!'

Inu-yasha suddenly froze and lifted his head into the wind a little bit. Kagome watched his face for a clue as to what was going on, but received nothing. He seemed to be judging distance, and power. Suddenly, he jumped into a tree, completely abandoning his ramen. Kagome followed him with her eyes, expecting to see him look for something, or try to get a better scent of it. He did neither. He seemed contented to sit in his tree, just like he did when they traveled with the group. Actually, now that she looked, it was more like he was disgraced to be in her presence,,, like he was far superior than she was. 

This made Kagome slightly angry; she thought he trusted her more than that! She was about to give him a piece of her mind, when she felt it: a Shikon Shard was coming, and it was coming with something powerful! It wasn't a big thing, no larger than her, but its power seemed to come off it in never ending layers.

Inu-yasha looked down at her. By her upright posture, not to mention the look on her face, he could tell that she sensed it now. But he also knew that she could only sense the demonic part that he smelled; she couldn't feel the miko energy. She couldn't feel that it was corrupted to the point of being even more powerful than before!

He turned his head towards her and whispered still looking superior, almost too low for her to hear. "Pretend you don't sense it. It's not close enough to hear us yet, if we whisper, but if I cut you off or change the subject, that's why. Do you know the way to the next village?"

"I think so, but I se…" Kagome mumbled softly, but apparently too loud anyways. 

"Stupid girl, I can see very well that the water is boiling!" Inu-yasha's voice was harsh, but his face was not. Whatever the thing was, it could hear them now. He knew what she was going to tell him: the thing had a shard. He couldn't let it know that they were on to it!

After a brief pause, during which he signified with his hands that the thing was behind him, he asked another question. "So, how fast are you at…" he signified with his hands that he meant running, "cooking ramen?" he finished, just for show.

Kagome had seen his hand motions, and understood what he was doing. "I'm quite fast, thank you!"

"Would you be faster if…" he pretended with his hands to have handle bars, mimicking her bike, "I came down there and made you go faster?"

Kagome understood now not only what he was asking, but also that that was supposed to be a threat, and she should be more timid and act more like a servant. "Probably a lot faster…" she said a little more quietly and timidly than before.

"Ok, then I'll come down so you'll have to do that!" he said, jumping from his tree. He sat right next to her, watching her carefully as she poured the water into the ramen, but he kept his back to the powerful thing that kept coming closer and began whispering quickly. "When I tell you to, get on your bike and get out of here as fast as you can. Head for the village."

"But Inu-yasha, I…" Kagome was getting scared. Nothing scared Inu-yasha, yet he was trying to get her out of here. Fast. The only other time he had done that was when he was losing to his brother, and was sure he would die, and had wanted her to be safe. But this wasn't Sessho-maru's aura. She would never forget that aura, as long as she lived! And this wasn't Naraku's either; they had killed him! He was gone, yet this aura was almost as strong as his had been!

Suddenly, she sensed it come closer with incredible speed. She could hear Inu-yasha yelling "Now! Now!" for all he was worth, but to no avail! Something in that aura wouldn't let her leave. With eyes wide and full of dread, she turned towards the source of the power.

There, standing in the tree where Inu-yasha had just been sitting, was a woman with pointed, elf-like ears, and yet wearing a miko's garb. Her eyes were closed, her head slightly bent forwards, and her hair flew wildly behind her, flapping on the breeze that was caused by her power. In front of her she held a beautiful dagger, glinting with moonlight, yet glowing with a deep purple light of it's own. The hilt was solid silver, and engraved to look like a plant, with green stones making the leaves. At the base of it was a gorgeous, round, green stone, and at the base of the sword, a Shikon shard had been planted somehow. But the shard was horribly corrupted, and full of evil.

The woman lifted her head now, and opened her eyes, which were glowing red, and turned with a wicked smile towards Kagome, who couldn't move. Inu-yasha also seemed unable to move, as though under some sort of spell, and he just stood there holding the Tetsuseiga. 

The woman's smile widened as she saw that neither were moving, and she spoke. "Greetings, priestess. We meet again! But this time, it won't be a draw; I've come for my final vengeance…"

Well, what do you guys think? Can you figure out what's going on? Probably not, but you'll find out in the next chapter! Well, if I write a next chapter… I'll only write if I get 5 reviews, ok? Sound fair? That's the only way I get them, so be glad I'm not setting it higher! (or, if you don't like this story, don't care. Whatever works) Actually, even if you don't like this story, tell me so! I want to do better, but if no one tells me what I do wrong, well, it's a lot harder! Please review! 

~~Koneko-chan~~


	2. The Silver Dagger's Vengeance

Well, I didn't get my reviews yet, but I'm continuing anyways cuz I'd like to finish this story before Spring Break ends and I don't have time anymore. Of course, I doubt this will happen, but I'll try anyways!

MissMarilyn69 – Good guess, but not it! It's a lot more complicated than that! 

Disclaimer: Yes! THEY'RE MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey look! My brother took a shower! (aka, no I don't actually own them)

The story thus far: Naraku has been defeated, but the Shikon no Tama hasn't been completed yet. The group has split in two (Kagome and Inu-yasha & Sango, Miroku, and Shippo) to get to the next village. A mysterious demoness wearing a miko's clothing and possessing a horribly corrupted Shikon Shard, has suddenly attacked Inu & Kag, and claims to be seeking vengeance on Kagome.

Speak My Soul 

**Chapter 1:**

_The woman's smile widened as she saw that neither were moving, and she spoke. "Greetings, priestess. We meet again! But this time, it won't be a draw; I've come for my final vengeance…"_

            The voice that issued from her body was a woman's voice that was combined with a deep, roaring male's voice. As she spoke, the glow around her dagger grew brighter, and it seemed as though all of the evil energy was coming from that blade. Kagome could see the shard that was on the hilt of the blade, but she was helpless to do anything about it. The demoness floated down from the tree slowly, pointing the blade at Kagome as she did so, until she was standing right before her prey. She placed the tip of the blade under Kagome's chin, and lifted it so Kagome was looking up at her face. 

            "Rise, now. I want to enjoy this." She began to lift the blade, bringing Kagome with it, for the spell on her had been broken. The blade drew a little bit of blood from Kagome's chin, and she gave a sharp cry.

            This cry, along with the smell of her blood, was tearing Inu-yasha apart. He had to save her, but he couldn't move! This demoness's power was great, beyond what it should have been. She smelled of the demon he had smelled earlier, yet all the corrupted miko power was coming off her as well. How could that be?! She couldn't be both, could she? And besides, she smelled at least a little bit… human?

            "I've waited_ so long _for this! For centuries, I could only loan power to those who were evil. But now, I have a body with incredible power! None can keep me from my final vengeance!" She smirked. "This body is both miko and youkai, and I can control them both! Its power is incredible!"

            Kagome could only stare in fear, still not understanding what was happening. She could tell that whoever this was who had the knife at her throat was being possessed, but by who? Naraku? Naraku would be the only one who would want to seek vengeance on her, but Naraku couldn't come back! Hadn't they killed him? Under the counseling of Kaede, they purified the area of his destruction so that he could never return in any form. Could this have failed?

            Inu-yasha suddenly broke free of the spell and rushed to help Kagome. 

            "Get away from her, bitch!" Inu-yasha yelled as he flew at her with more speed than he had ever managed before, slashing at her with an incredible attack. Unfortunately, she nimbly dodged, so he landed protectively in front of Kagome instead. Kagome, still in slight shock, fell to her knees next to the fireplace. The fire had gone out when the demoness appeared, smothered by her power. Kagome placed a hand to the small cut just below her chin, and felt the blood flowing out of it.

            The demoness glared at Inu-yasha. "I would have let you live! None shall get in the way of my vengeance! Not even Fate can control me now!"

            Kagome snapped out of her trance. "Inu-yasha! The shard's in the blade!"

            "Silence, priestess! I know not what your name is now, but did you ever figure out why you can sense the jewel? Your Midoriko's damned reincarnation! I won't let you escape this time! You're mine!"

            With that, she lunged at Kagome, but Inu-yasha had been expecting this, and rushed to meet her. The Tetsuseiga met with the silver dagger, yet much to his surprise, the dagger didn't shatter under the impact. They tested each other's strength for a while, until the demoness grew tired of waiting. With a sudden rush of her amazing power, she pushed so hard against the Tetsuseiga that Inu-yasha flew into a nearby tree, leaving a large dent where he landed. 

She lunged at Kagome again, but Inu-yasha was already on his way to protect her. The demoness saw that she wouldn't reach her quarry in time, and instead, she did something Inu-yasha hadn't expected: she threw the blade.

            The blade flew with incredible speed and perfect aim; it zoomed past Inu-yasha's face before he had realized it had left her hand, and continued along it's path to lodge itself deep, horribly deep, into…

            She never even saw it coming: a flash of silver, and then a horrid pain in her gut. In a daze, she looked down to see the silver and green hilt protruding from her gut, the blade completely lost to her insides. Blood was seeping out from around the dagger. She looked up at Inu-yasha, who couldn't take in what he was seeing, not to mention smelling. He stood there in shock, as Kagome stood there with blood pouring from her frail human body. She opened her mouth, and a little bit of blood dribbled out as she did. She stumbled backwards, and then fell, only to be caught by Inu-yasha, who slowly lowered her to the ground.

            Even as he lowered her, the Shikon shard around her neck started to glow. The shard on the blade flew to join it, and quickly molded on. There came a noise of shattering glass from her backpack, and then the shards that she had kept in a bottle came racing out, quickly joining the other shards, and creating the full Shikon no Tama.

            But all of this was lost to Inu-yasha, who couldn't take his eyes from Kagome's face. He couldn't protect her. He'd failed.

            His breath was coming in short gasps, and he shook his head slightly, trying to deny that this was happening. "No…no…no, this can't be happening! Kagome, please…" He said softly, desperately. He couldn't lose her! Not _his_ Kagome! Not after all they had been through! How could this have happened? He watched her face contort in pain. This couldn't be happening.

            Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she turned to Inu-yasha, as though she wanted to tell him something, despite her obvious pain. 

            "I-Inu…*gasp*….Inu-yasha, I….I…" Suddenly, a look of sadness dominated her features, combining with her look of pain, followed by something he couldn't name, but broke his heart. She sighed, then slipped into unconsciousness. 

            Inu-yasha pulled her close, holding her tightly. A voice carried over to him that he didn't recognize, but he knew where it came from.

            "Oh, kami-sama, what have I done?!"

            Inu-yasha turned, still clutching Kagome, to the demoness. She looked much different now: she was on her hands and knees, in total disbelief. Her eyes were no longer red, but like Inu-yasha's, with long slender pupils set in irises of shimmering silver. The power around her was no longer so great as before, and he no longer sensed the corrupted miko energy from earlier; just regular miko energy.

            "Oh, kami-sama, how can I even beg your forgiveness? Please, let me help you! I can…"

            "Bitch! Why in the seven hells would I let you help? You just threw your damn knife into her guts! She's dying because of you, and you want to _help_?"

            "Please! I can help you save her!"

            "And how do you plan on doing that? Slitting her throat? Poisoning her?"

            The demoness cowered at his words.

            "I didn't mean to! You may not believe me, but that shard possessed me! It- oh, never mind, you won't believe me! Just let me help you! We can save her!"

            "There's no way we can help her!" Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "I'll take her back to her time! They have amazing things there! If she can hold on for a few hours…"

            "She won't last that long!"

            "Then what do you propose we do, wench?"

            "We can give her some of your blood!"

            "She's a miko! Her body won't accept it! Did you think I hadn't thought of that?"

            "That's where I can help you! I can make it possible!"

            Inu-yasha stared at her in disbelief. How could she do that? Could he trust her? She was the one that had Kagome dying to begin with! Her only excuse was that the Shikon Shard 'possessed her.' How was that possible? The shards never possessed anyone else. He looked down at Kagome, bleeding to death there in his arms.

            The demoness watched Inu-yasha carefully. He had every right to kill her right now! Inu-yasha suddenly yanked the dagger from Kagome's body. He put Kagome down and walked towards her, carrying the bloody blade. The demoness knew what was coming, and shut her eyes tight, preparing for her death.

            But it never came. She opened her eyes to see Inu-yasha, holding the blade out to her to give it back.

            "I'll trust you for now, but only for Kagome's sake. What do I have to do?"

            The demoness looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, as though she was searching him for something. She then nodded. "Grab Kagome and follow me. I have what we need back at my village. It's not far from here. Try to put pressure on the wound; if nothing else, it should slow the bleeding."

            And with that, they took off into the forest. 

Well, there you go, minna-san! Now I expect some more reviews, ok? Ideas are useful to me, and so is criticism! Please talk to me!

Wow, I really don't write very long chapters, do I? Oh well! Why put in one chapter what you can spread out into 4, right? ^.~

Anywhoo, I'll try to update soon!

~~Koneko-chan~~


	3. Help!

**Important Author's Note!!!!**

Well, no one seems to be reading this story. Of course, this leads me to be quite discouraged! As a matter of fact, no one really likes any of my stories. *pouts* I've been told that I should write because I enjoy it, not to please others, but for me, that's why I write! If no one likes it, why should I waste time & effort writing it?

            No, this isn't just for me to whine, either. This note is being posted to announce that I am strongly considering discontinuing this fic (and no, it isn't finished yet!!!!). If people tell me they want me to continue, maybe I will, but… I want to write something u people want to read! 

            So, here's the point: please tell me how to improve! What's wrong with this fic? How can I save it? **_Can _**I save it? Most important: **_What kinda fics do u want to read?????????_** What should I be writing that u peeps would like? Or does my style drive people crazy? Someone give me a clue!

            This is from a desperate, not to mention severely depressed, author who is seeking the help of anyone who has enough of a heart to help me…. *cries*

            Btw, you can e-mail me directly at koneko_queen@yahoo.com if ur computer (like mine…grr…) won't let you do reviews. Now you have no excuse not to help me! So please?

            ~~Koneko-chan~~

            ps. Yes, I'm posting this on all three of my fics cuz no one really wants to read any of them…


	4. Transfusion

Hi, minna!!! I'm soooo sorry that it took me so long to update!!! And such a short chapter, too… I do apologize! But I'll get more up soon, I promise!!! 

Disclaimer: Mine, all mine!!! Ha ha ha!!!! All mine!!! Whoa, all my stuffed animals are dancing on the bed… and I think that I just saw a dinosaur pass by…

Well, here we go!

Speak My Soul

_"I'll trust you for now, but only for Kagome's sake. What do I have to do?"_

_            The demoness looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, as though she was searching him for something. She then nodded. "Grab Kagome and follow me. I have what we need back at my village. It's not far from here. Try to put pressure on the wound; if nothing else, it should slow the bleeding."_

_            And with that, they took off into the forest. _

Inu-yasha was amazed at her speed. She was definitely a hanyou. But she also had that miko energy… She was his only hope right now. 

            "Bitch! If you betray us, it will be your own death."

            The girl winced at his words, and he noticed that she was probably no older than Kagome.

            "I won't betray you. It was my fault this happened. If she were to die, I'd never forgive myself."

            "I don't think I'll ever forgive you anyways!" Inu-yasha snarled. Kagome's life was fading, even right there.

            Thankfully, the village came into sight, and he could see her visibly relax at the sight. 

            "We're almost there!"

            'This is the village that we were coming to… does that mean she's…?'

            "Lady Naoko! You're ok!!! Oh, thank kami!" Inu-yasha's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the cries of a young girl, who was in the streets of the village. She seemed to be familiar with… Naoko. "You just changed one day, and you lashed out at everybody! Some people were hurt, and we all ran away! Then you got distracted, and left… what happened???" The little girl was practically in tears. 

            "Hai, hai, Hitomi, I'm better now! There's no time to explain! Get all my supplies ready – everything! - we have an emergency!"

            The girl suddenly hid her emotions and ran to do as she was bid.

            "Quickly, this way!"

            Naoko led him to a large hut. The little girl, Hitomi, ran in after them with baskets of herbs. 

Inu-yasha laid Kagome down on a small bed. Naoko rushed over to her and immediately ripped open her shirt. Despite the emergency, she managed to hit Inu-yasha's face away.

"Just because this is desperate doesn't mean you get to peak. Hitomi, get a blanket over her chest. We need to keep her warm!"

Hitomi did as she was bid and quickly covered her. Naoko had been working nonstop, even while yelling out instructions, throwing in all kinds of herbs and occasionally mumbling a quick spell.

Inu-yasha was quite upset.

"Just who do you think you are?"

Naoko kept working, even as she responded. 

"Naoko Sakamoto. I am the priestess of this village, a perfect cross of demon and miko, so don't you dare ridicule anything I do. I already know who you are. I was conscious during all of these events. I've been wanting to meet you, Inu-yasha. You know that we're the only two hanyous alive currently? It's kinda sad, really."

Suddenly she grabbed him and pulled him over to the bed and drew her knife. She quickly cut his palm open, and he cried out in surprise. His instincts told him to snatch his hand away, but she held it with a surprising strength for a female (not being sexist… well, I am, but not in a mean way, k everyone?). She appeared to take no notice, and appeared to be concentrating on something.

"Are you ready? I'm going to put your hand to her wound, and then take mine away. You must repeat every word I say _exactly_. You mispronounce a single syllable and this will all fail. You will not recognize the tongue, so focus on repeating it, not understanding it. Are you ready?"

"Yes, do it!"

She slowly put his hand down, whispering small spells that would allow the contact of the blood. Then she slowly removed his hand. If the spells failed, she would need to grab it to keep any damage from occurring – to either of the two.

"Ok, here we go… _Yaminoturaa… vehedra sumorai… sansunai kusoro… habtaii, habtaii…"_

Inu-yasha repeated after her, in an identical whisper. He felt a power growing in his hand, but did his best to ignore it.

"Sumora nalandiai… fomoreei… desecantemos… habataii, taii…" 

The power was starting to burn. It was hard for even Inu-yasha to bear. They kept up the steady chant, but Naoko noticed him grimacing with pain. She turned and looked at Hitomi, and made a few quick motions with her hands.

"Say nothing, whatever you do! It will be her death!"

Inu-yasha almost messed up his words at that, but quickly recovered. It was hard to keep from crying out, especially as he felt his power draining.

Then Naoko stopped chanting.

"Say nothing, Inu-yasha, be strong! You just have to hold it for a moment!" she cried as Inu-yasha finished repeating what she had just said.

Suddenly, the room erupted in light, all centered around his hand. He was biting his lip hard to keep from crying out, to the point of drawing blood. 

Then the light faded, and the pain went with it, but slowly.

"You may speak now, Inu-yasha." Naoko informed him as she started covering Kagome's wound. "She'll live now. She's a lesser hanyou. Though I wonder why it caused you so much pain… it shouldn't have… Maybe you weren't… but then it wouldn't have worked at all, and it did…" She looked at him quizzically.

Inu-yasha said nothing, but simply sat there panting. The process had taken much of his energy, and his hand hurt like no wound he had ever had. Well, except one… Kikyo's arrow…

There wasn't much to be said, so Inu-yasha leaned back against the wall  to sleep some. He was still right next to Kagome, and it was obvious that, even in his sleep, he was alert to anything that would come near her. 

"Lady Naoko!" Hitomi whispered, "Why did it hurt him so much? I thought it wasn't supposed to hurt like that. Doesn't he love her?"

"He must, Hitomi – otherwise it wouldn't have worked. But I don't know why it hurt that much. It was like she was… hmmm… I think their relationship has some complications…"

"You mean she doesn't love him?"

"She loves him with all her heart and soul. That much I could sense. You know that I specialize in emotions, don't you? I sense them really well. I thought I felt those vibes when I first saw them, even though I had no control over myself. But in the instant before she went unconscious, this strange look crossed her face. It was sad, and then almost… dutiful. Like there was something she had to do. I wish I knew more of their past, so that I might make sense of this. It was like she gave up… I don't know what it is that would make someone as in love as I thought she was give up that easily… and that worries me…" 

The moonlight danced over the pair through a small window. Hitomi didn't know it, but Kagome was the only one in the room who was sleeping. Inu-yasha had heard every word that was said. Hitomi assumed that his head turned in his sleep, but Naoko sensed his emotions, and turned away so she wouldn't see that single tear that she felt roll down his cheek.

Kagome had resisted life.

Dun dun dun!!! Well, there you go, minna! Sorry this took me so long… Been very busy, y'know! I won't take anywhere near as long next time. Now we're almost to the place where the title will make sense. Sorry the chapter was so short, but I gotta get to bed now, tho. G'night, minna!!!!!


	5. Trust

Speak My Soul 

The moonlight danced over the pair through a small window. Hitomi didn't know it, but Kagome was the only one in the room who was sleeping. Inu-yasha had heard every word that was said. Hitomi assumed that his head turned in his sleep, but Naoko sensed his emotions, and turned away so she wouldn't see that single tear that she felt roll down his cheek.

_Kagome had resisted life._

"Come, Hitomi. It's late – very much past your bedtime." Naoko said as she started to nudge Hitomi out the door.

"But… But what if something happens? What if you need my help?!?"

Naoko smiled. Hitomi was so cute. She was only about six or seven, and she was genuinely worried about these strangers.

"I don't think anything will happen. If it does, I'll send Inu-yasha to come get you as fast as he can!"

"But he doesn't know where I live!!!"

"I wouldn't worry about that. He's a dog yokai! He'll follow your scent and find you right away. He'll even give you a lift so you can get here faster!"

"Ok…" Hitomi finally gave in. They started to walk towards Hitomi's house. They were just outside the door when stopped. She turned and looked back at the dark doorway. 

"What is it?" Naoko asked, turning back to the young girl.

"Do you really think he'll leave her? If something happens, that is…"

Naoko was very surprised at this. Hitomi always surprised her that way. She was so… perceptive. She could read emotions almost as well as Naoko could! But she didn't have the powers that Naoko did… Maybe it was just because Hitomi had already experienced so many emotions. When she was very young, only a few years old, her parents had been killed right in front of her. She had seen so much… Naoko had read that on her when she first met her. Naoko had taken her in then to be her assistant. She always had nightmares, and Naoko would feel them. In a way, this helped, because it helped her comfort the little girl. One such nightmare had led to the discovery of her talent…

"I'll make him!" Naoko joked, putting on a silly face. Then she cleared her throat and stood up straight again. "Seriously, though… that's how sure I am that nothing will happen.

Hitomi looked confused by this. Naoko got down on her knees so she was looking Hitomi right in the eyes.

"Don't worry, Hitomi. She has demon blood in her now. Even to a lesser hanyou that wound isn't so terrible – it just hurts a lot. It will take a quite a while to heal, but she'll be okay." 

Hitomi still looked doubtful. Naoko sighed.

"Tell you what – you can come over in the morning and ask her yourself. She'll probably wake up in the morning!"

Hitomi thought about this proposal for a little while. Then she smiled, and nodded her head up and down in a big, exaggerated motion.

"Ok, great! Now come on, let's get you home. It's cold out here!" Naoko said with a shiver.

            Inu-yasha hadn't moved when they left. He still sat there, the moonlight shining in his silver hair. It also glinted in the track that his tear had left on his cheek.

            'Why, Kagome? Why didn't you want my blood? Why didn't you want to be saved?' The image of Kagome's face before she passed out flashed through his head. Naoko was right – it had seemed like she was doing what had to be done. But that couldn't be right… 

            He watched as her appearance changed a little more. She had been changing, little by little, ever since she had received his blood. Her hair now had four streaks of silver in it, two on each side of her head. Her ears were slowly moving to the top of her head as they gradually turned into those similar to his. Her eyes rippled under their lids, and he knew that they, too, had changed.

            Inu-yasha growled. This was all her fault, that stupid Naoko woman. Well, it was his fault for being unable to protect Kagome, but now he was entrusting her to her near-killer without so much as an explanation. What kind of fool was he? He didn't even know what kind of demon Naoko was. And she claimed that the shard had possessed her… that couldn't be right. Shards give power, but they can't take control…

            Just then, Naoko came hurrying back into the room, and Inu-yasha feigned sleep again. Hitomi followed her soon after, but she smelled of fear. Naoko went to the large basket that Inu-yasha hadn't noticed before and dug through what appeared to be very old scrolls. Naoko found the one she was looking for and opened it. Inu-yasha opened his eyes a little to glance at it, and saw that it was written in a writing that he had never seen before, almost faded to a point where it was gone. It was, however, and ancient demonic tongue – that much he could tell.

            Naoko motioned to Hitomi, who scampered quietly over to her. Inu-yasha heard every whisper.

            "Is that it?"

            "Yes, Hitomi, I believe this is the right spell. I just hope it works!"

            "Read it to me, and I'll start the preparations."

            But before Naoko could start, she was hanging by her neck, which was grasped tightly in Inu-yasha's hand.

            "Bitch!" he yelled, as Hitomi screamed in fear, and Naoko gasped for breath. "I knew that I couldn't trust you! Casting spells on her when you think I have my guard down… You sicken me! I should just crush your throat right now!"

            "No!! Don't!" yelled Hitomi. "We can explain! We meant her no harm!"

            By now, several of the villager's had heard Hitomi's scream. Some men rushed in, armed with farm equipment, to see what was wrong. 

            "Demon! Put her down! We'll kill you!"

            But Inu-yasha ignored them. They were too frightened to actually attack anyways.

            Suddenly, Naoko used a burst of power to blow him away. He hit the wall and slid down. He instantly got to his feet, ready to take her on.

            "You fool!" Naoko yelled. "We were going to help her! Don't you know what I am?"

            "Besides a lying, deceitful witch? No! You were to busy lying to mention it!"

            "Don't you dare talk to her that way!" yelled one of the villagers. "You vile demon! Bursting in here at night, trying to injure a child, a miko, and a wounded woman? And you accuse Naoko, who is far better than you can ever dream to be, of being bad?"

            "Don't you dare speak of what you don't know, bastard!" yelled Inu-yasha, whose eyes were starting to turn red. "Your precious priestess is the one who tried to kill Kagome, and was about to cast a spell on her to finish the job!"

            "QUIET!!!"

            All eyes turned to Naoko.

            "Inu-yasha, I will tell you everything. I am sorry that this happened. The rest of you, go back to bed. These are guests of the village, and we have much healing to do."

            The villagers looked quite surprised, but did as they were told. Naoko turned to Inu-yasha.

            "Well, what do you want to know?"

            "Who are you?" Inu-yasha snarled, not ready to believe anything.

            "I did not lie before. My name is Naoko, and I am a cross between a miko and a healing demon – a perfect balance of each. That is why," she continued, cutting Inu-yasha off, "the shard was able to possess me. I myself was neutral, while it was evil. The evil part of the jewel took over – the soul from the demon of demons. The great demon possessed me to take its final vengeance on Kagome."

            "But Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation."

            "And Kikyo was Midoriko's first reincarnation." 

            Inu-yasha thought about this for a while.

            "What spell were you going to cast without my knowing, then?"

            "I wasn't doing it without your knowledge. I knew you were awake. And I wasn't going to cast it, either. I was merely looking for it."

            "Why did Hitomi come back with you?" The girl glanced up upon hearing her name. "I thought you were taking her home for bed."

            "I was. But when she came to give me a hug, she touched some of the blood on my clothing, and it gave her a vision."

            "What?"

            "Hitomi has visions. That's why she's my helper – I'm helping her learn how to control these visions, and how to decipher them."

            "And this… this vision… it told you to come cast a spell on Kagome?"

            "No. Hitomi saw that Kagome wasn't going to wake up in the morning. Indeed, she was not going to wake up for many days. That's as far as she told me, before telling me that her soul was trying to leave, trying to die. She also told me there was a spell in my scrolls to fix all of this."

            Inu-yasha turned to Hitomi, who tried to act brave, but was obviously afraid of him.

            "Well? What was the rest of the vision, girl?"

            Naoko also seemed interested to find out what Hitomi had seen. However, Hitomi was still frightened. Whatever she had seen, it had been bad.

            "Well, girl?"

            Suddenly, Naoko strode back over towards the scrolls and grabbed what appeared to be a large, flat rock with ancient writings inscribed on it.

            "Here, Hitomi, use this."

            Inu-yasha recognized this – it was a Seeing Stone. True seers could use them to show others their visions. He had seen it happen before. There was no way to put a spell on one, and there was no way to create a false one. If you created something meant to trick others into believing that you were a seer, it would break itself – the magic in the actual stones were that powerful.

            Hitomi, looking only slightly relieved, walked over to it. She sat in front of it, placed her hands on the edges, and closed her eyes.

            Like on the 'tee-vee' thing that Kagome had shown him, a picture leapt up from the rock, but there was no screen on this. The image was merely floating in the air.

            The other main difference between this and the TV was that Inu-yasha did not like what he saw.

Well, that was a loooooonnnng chapter, so I hope everyone's happy! I just got an urge to finish this story, so I'm really trying!!! Wish me luck, and keep reviewing!!!!


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